Gainesville, Alabama climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
Gainesville's normal year runs from 35°F January nights to 91°F July afternoons, with 60.0 inches of precipitation a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 17.7°C, January lows of 2°C, July highs of 33°C, 1,523 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationGainesville (2 mi NE)
- Station IDUSW00063892
- Location32.84°N 88.14°W
- Elevation107 ft (33 m)
- Population164
On October 23, the normal high in Gainesville is 74°F and the normal low 50°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 24%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Gainesville.
- Jan 55° 35°
- Feb 60° 38°
- Mar 68° 45°
- Apr 75° 52°
- May 82° 61°
- Jun 88° 68°
- Jul 91° 71°
- Aug 91° 71°
- Sep 86° 65°
- Oct 76° 53°
- Nov 66° 42°
- Dec 58° 38°
Each month: normal high (large) and low, °F. Fill: the month's normal mean, colder blue to hotter red.
What is the weather like in Gainesville each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 91°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of 35°F. The most precipitation falls in August (7.19 in), the least in September (3.67 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 55°F | 35°F | 45.1°F | 5.88 | 10 | <1 | 16 | 10 h 10 min |
| February | 60°F | 38°F | 49.3°F | 5.36 | 10 | <1 | 9 | 11 h |
| March | 68°F | 45°F | 56.7°F | 6.39 | 10 | <1 | 3 | 12 h |
| April | 75°F | 52°F | 63.4°F | 4.92 | 8 | <1 | <1 | 13 h |
| May | 82°F | 61°F | 71.2°F | 3.87 | 9 | 3 | <1 | 13 h 50 min |
| June | 88°F | 68°F | 78.0°F | 4.81 | 9 | 16 | <1 | 14 h 20 min |
| July | 91°F | 71°F | 81.2°F | 4.70 | 12 | 20 | <1 | 14 h 10 min |
| August | 91°F | 71°F | 80.6°F | 7.19 | 10 | 18 | <1 | 13 h 20 min |
| September | 86°F | 65°F | 75.6°F | 3.67 | 6 | 11 | <1 | 12 h 30 min |
| October | 76°F | 53°F | 64.7°F | 3.83 | 7 | 1 | <1 | 11 h 30 min |
| November | 66°F | 42°F | 53.9°F | 4.21 | 7 | <1 | 6 | 10 h 30 min |
| December | 58°F | 38°F | 47.7°F | 5.13 | 11 | <1 | 12 | 10 h |
| Year (annual) | 75°F | 53°F | 63.9°F | 59.96 | 109 | 68 | 45 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 13°C | 2°C | 7.3°C | 149 mm |
| February | 16°C | 3°C | 9.6°C | 136 mm |
| March | 20°C | 7°C | 13.7°C | 162 mm |
| April | 24°C | 11°C | 17.4°C | 125 mm |
| May | 28°C | 16°C | 21.8°C | 98 mm |
| June | 31°C | 20°C | 25.6°C | 122 mm |
| July | 33°C | 22°C | 27.3°C | 119 mm |
| August | 33°C | 21°C | 27.0°C | 183 mm |
| September | 30°C | 18°C | 24.2°C | 93 mm |
| October | 25°C | 12°C | 18.2°C | 97 mm |
| November | 19°C | 6°C | 12.2°C | 107 mm |
| December | 14°C | 3°C | 8.7°C | 130 mm |
NOAA publishes no 1991-2020 snowfall normal for this station. Gainesville's own co-op station Gainesville Lock does: 0 inches of snow in a normal year (see the other stations below).
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USW00063892; annual normals. Wet days: 0.01 inch or more; 90°F days and freezing nights: NOAA's day counts. Daylight: sunrise to sunset on the 15th, computed from the latitude.
When is the best weather to visit Gainesville?
Normal highs sit between 65°F and 85°F in March, April, May, October and November. Of those, October has the fewest days with rain (7).
That is a measurement, not a recommendation: it counts the months whose normal afternoon high sits between 65°F and 85°F, where a light layer is enough by day.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USW00063892.
When is the last frost in Gainesville?
In Gainesville, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after March 12 in half of years and after April 1 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before November 13 in half of years and before October 30 in one year in ten.
Frost-free in half of yearsFrost in 1 to 9 years out of 10Frost most years
- Last spring frost, half of years after
- March 121 year in 10 after April 1; 9 in 10 after February 21
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- November 131 year in 10 before October 30; 9 in 10 before December 1
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 246 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 276 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after February 27 in half of springs and before November 27 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Gainesville in zone 8b in ZIP code 35464, the nearest ZIP area.
Frost dates for every NOAA station in Alabama · Frost dates by ZIP code
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals (frost probabilities), station USW00063892; USDA 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map, ZIP listings: PRISM Group, Oregon State University, https://prism.oregonstate.edu, accessed October 8, 2026. A 10% date means one year in ten has a frost after it in spring or before it in autumn.
How hot and how cold does it get in Gainesville?
In a normal year in Gainesville, 68 days a year reach 90°F (2 of them 100°F or more), 45 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 109 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 68a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- 2a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 45a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 1high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 109a normal year
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USW00063892.
How sunny is Gainesville?
Over a year 78% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around Gainesville, 4.6 kWh per square metre a day. September is the sunniest month (82%) and February the cloudiest (68%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 71% | 2.8 |
| February | 68% | 3.3 |
| March | 72% | 4.4 |
| April | 77% | 5.6 |
| May | 80% | 6.1 |
| June | 81% | 6.4 |
| July | 80% | 6.0 |
| August | 81% | 5.6 |
| September | 82% | 5.1 |
| October | 80% | 4.1 |
| November | 78% | 3.2 |
| December | 69% | 2.4 |
Source: NASA POWER solar climatology, 2001-2020 (CERES SYN1deg). Satellite-based, for the 1-degree cell (about 100 km across) around the station, so it describes the area rather than the airport.
How much heating and cooling does Gainesville need?
A normal year in Gainesville brings 2,461 heating degree days, 54% fewer than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 2,101 cooling degree days, 2.3 times the median (908). Four months need 300 or more heating degree days, a monthly mean of about 55°F or colder. For gardens and crops, NOAA counts 5,710 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 618 | 1 |
| February | 443 | 5 |
| March | 277 | 20 |
| April | 109 | 60 |
| May | 20 | 212 |
| June | 0 | 390 |
| July | 0 | 501 |
| August | 0 | 485 |
| September | 3 | 319 |
| October | 104 | 93 |
| November | 345 | 11 |
| December | 542 | 4 |
| Year (annual) | 2,461 | 2,101 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USW00063892. A degree day is one degree of a day's mean temperature below 65°F (heating) or above it (cooling); utilities use them to estimate energy use.
Has Gainesville been warmer than normal lately?
2025 averaged 65.3°F, 1.4°F above the 1991-2020 normal of 63.9°F. 4 of the 4 complete years since 2021 ran warmer than the normal.
| Year | Mean | Against normal | Precip. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 64.0°F | +0.1°F | 60.28 |
| 2023 | 65.7°F | +1.8°F | 43.03 |
| 2024 | 66.0°F | +2.1°F | 46.09 |
| 2025 | 65.3°F | +1.4°F | 56.14 |
Source: observed years: ACIS, station USW00063892. A year counts only with all twelve months complete.
How does Gainesville's climate compare?
Gainesville is warmer than 44 of the other 79 places with their own NOAA record in Alabama, and wetter than 56. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 63.9°F is warmer than 85%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Gainesville is Cfa: temperate, no dry season, hot summer. What the classes mean.
Places with the most similar year elsewhere
Measured month by month on the normal high, low and precipitation, among places of 20,000 or more people in other states:
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 normals for every station PlainClimate covers. Similarity: the root-mean-square difference of the 36 monthly figures, precipitation weighted so an inch counts like 6°F.
Which places near Gainesville share this climate record?
5 places have no NOAA station with 1991-2020 normals of their own, and this station is the nearest full record. A place's own climate can differ from these figures, by several degrees where it sits much higher or lower than the station, nearer the coast, or inside a large city's heat; for the larger places the next nearest records are named with their yearly mean, so the spread around them is visible, and places of 50,000 or more have their own page with NOAA's gridded normals.
- Eutaw, AL2,655 people · 14 mi E
- Scooba, MS730 people · 20 mi W
- Boligee, AL270 people · 8 mi SE
- Geiger, AL153 people · 11 mi W
- Panola, AL84 people · 11 mi NW
Source: Census Bureau 2024 Gazetteer (place centers) and Vintage 2024 population estimates. Distance and direction from the station to each place's center.
What do Gainesville's other NOAA stations record?
One more NOAA station keeps 1991-2020 normals in or near Gainesville. This page uses Gainesville (2 mi NE); the other differs by site and elevation:
| Station | From this station | Elevation | Year | Jan low | Jul high | Precip. | Snow | Last frost |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gainesville Lock USC00013160 | in town | 125 ft | 63.6°F | 33°F | 92°F | 55.0 | 0 | March 19 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 normals for each station. Last frost: the median last spring date of 32°F.
Questions about Gainesville's climate
What is the coldest month in Gainesville?
January, with a normal high of 55°F and a normal low of 35°F. The warmest is July (91°F by day, 71°F at night).
Does it snow in Gainesville?
Rarely. NOAA publishes no 1991-2020 snowfall normal for Gainesville's NOAA station; Gainesville's own co-op station Gainesville Lock records 0 inches of snow in a normal year.
What is the rainiest month in Gainesville?
August, with 7.19 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is September with 3.67 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Gainesville in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Gainesville in zone 8b in ZIP code 35464, the nearest ZIP area.
How late can frost come in Gainesville?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after March 12; in one year in ten it comes after April 1. Waiting until April 1 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- Alabama climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Livingston, AL18 miles from this station, 64.0°F a year
- Aliceville, AL20 miles from this station, 63.3°F a year
- Demopolis, AL27 miles from this station, 64.2°F a year
- Greensboro, AL31 miles from this station, 64.1°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made